Localization of the Remnant of a Cell Wall Sorting Signal and Its Interaction with a Sensor Kinase

Sortases are highly conserved enzymes with endopeptidase and transpeptidase activities in Gram-positive bacteria. Sortase A cleaves within an LPXTG-motif and covalently crosslinks cell wall proteins to become anchored to the peptidoglycan of the cell wall. We showed that a peptide cleaved by sortase A from the C-terminus (C-pep) of the LPXTG-adhesin SspA intercalates in the cell membrane. Nested in the membrane, this C-pep docks with the intramembrane sensor histidine kinase, SraS, to activate the response regulator, SraR. SraR signals that the C-pep has been cleaved as an indicator of the fidelity of sortase A processing. SraSR also signals that key LPXTG-proteins in concert with lipoteichoic acid engage the mucin, MUC5B, which elicits a different transcriptional response than the binding of other salivary constituents. To visualize the C-pep intercalating in the cell membrane in vivo, we used Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM). And to show that the C-pep complexes with SraS, we used bimolecular fluorescence experiments. The C-pep and SraS were each expressed with one or the other half of yellow fluorescence protein (YFP). Reconstitution of the complete YFP signal indicated that the C-pep and SraS interacted at molecular distances within the cell membrane in vivo. Using these imaging protocols, we learned that the C-pep functions as a signaling molecule within the cell membrane of the streptococcal cell.